Why am I NOT a SINNER?

Sanatan Dharma or Hinduism is not a prescriptive religion. It doesn’t give you a list of Do’s and Don’ts. It gives a lot of freedom of thought to the extent that a person who said there is no God is also referred to as Saint. According to the basic principles of Hinduism, the greatest sin is to call a person a sinner. We believe the divine force is existing in all living and non-living things…so, to call a person a sinner is to deny their divinity.

In 2006 April, I was in San Jose, CA to attend a conference. On the sidelines of a meeting, a fellow journalist, an African-American, told me that we are all sinners.

How can it be?

“I don’t think I am a sinner…” I said.

“Are you saying you are perfect?” he raised his eye brows.

“Yes, of course, I am perfect with all my imperfections…”

“That’s ridiculous. Nobody is perfect… To not be a sinner means you’ve never broken any Law of God?”

“Law of God? What’s that? I didn’t know that God was a law maker”

“Yes – God makes laws. Have you ever lied, cheated, or stolen?”

“I don’t remember cheating or stealing. But I may have lied. Not telling truth is almost equal to lying. Hmm…may be… I am an ordinary human being – in my childhood I might have stolen sweets too”

“Then you are a sinner”

“Oh, really? How can you be so sure that I am a sinner?”

“God’s scriptures says so”

So – that’s the reason -He follows some beliefs. “What does it says?”

“As a sinner, you are separated from God. But the God loves you enough to want you to be with him. Hence, the only way to have your sins forgiven is to put your trust in God and follow what god said… Otherwise, you will have to face him on your own on the Day of Judgment…So, why don’t you accept yourself as a sinner?”

“I don’t go by such beliefs. I follow Sanatan Dharma, in which you don’t have to believe in any beliefs”

“Are you criticizing our trust in God as just a set of beliefs?”

“Not at all…Who I am to do that? I am not. I am just saying that my viewpoints are different…this is a democratic country, right? You have right to express your opinion”

“So your religion doesn’t say you are a sinner?” he asked.

“Sanatan Dharma or Hinduism is not a prescriptive religion. It doesn’t give you a list of Do’s and Don’ts. It gives a lot of freedom of thought so much so that a person who said there is no God is also referred to as Saint.”

“That’s bull 8@#&”

“That’s your opinion. Because, you are conditioned by your beliefs. I don’t believe in beliefs. I am a seeker of truth. With conditioned-mind like that of yours, one cannot seek truth”.

His face turned red. He got really very angry.

“Don’t give me the angry look. Please don’t react before I finish. I don’t feel insecure or hurt if you talk any thing bad about my beliefs, then why should you get hurt?” I asked him. This is very strange. Some belief-systems that have the world’s largest numbers of followers are more insecure and feel hurt, when somebody questions their beliefs or superstitions. I asked him: “Why do you people feel insecure and angry or get hurt when somebody says against your faith? Please give freedom to others to express their views…”

“I disagree with you. You are wrong, totally wrong” he said.

“You are free to disagree. This is America, a democratic country… You are not letting me complete…”

“OK” he was cooling down.

“See my friend, the concept of good or bad is Western. The world of seeing duality and polar opposites everywhere is Semitic. A totally overly simplistic view of the world.”

“Is it not so?”

“It is a very simplistic black and white philosophy – I agree it is very easy to to understand at mind-level and follow too… but everything can not be defined in black and white. In fact, 99% of everything is in the grey”

“Hmm…I don’t understand. Come to the point, don’t just bah-blah… You mean to say there is no sin in your religion?”

“Yes and no… There is no such sin, as per your concept, in Hinduism. This is just another western concept that has crept in India through the foreign missionaries… It’s a foreign concept brought to us by foreigners, and had no place in original Hinduism”

The Hindu view of sin is not the same as other religious views…For instance, Christians (particularly Catholics) believe that sin is an offense against God. According to Catholic theology, a mortal sin (a bad act committed with full knowledge and significant reflection) breaks a person’s relationship with God and if he/she dies unrepentant in a state of mortal sin, he/she will go to hell.

In Hinduism, the term sin (pāapa in Sanskrit) is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes. However, it is totally different from other religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the sense that sin is against the will of God -or against the God’s laws.

In other words, Christianity has no theory of karma, so they believe in God’s Judgment after death. Also every human is assumed to be a sinner right from birth, and therefore, must fear God, who in turn will love the human. Some Hindus may say, good takes you closer to God while bad takes you away from God – but there is no such mention in our ancient scriptures: even good karma cannot reach to god … one must transcend both paapa and punya to realize the supreme or cosmic….

“Hindu isn’t answerable to a personal God. He cannot repent of sin, and there is no forgiveness. He is responsible for his actions because of an inexorable law of the universe.”

“Oh, I have heard the word ‘karma’ – we also use it while writing news stories, though I don’t fully understand the meaning. So you are now agreeing there is bad karma”

“Karma – it is just karma, not good or bad. The results depends upon action and reaction of the person, situations, space and time….here again, we cannot tout it as simple black and white or in ‘yes or no’ platform…”

“But you believe karma will yield to result…”

“Oh, that doesn’t mean if you do good, good will result, and if you do something bad, bad will result. That’s also very simplistic way of seeing complex and related things. If that’s true, why do bad things happen to good people?”

“Oh Oh…you are intentionally complicating things, just to win in argument…”

“No. At present, I am not arguing with you. I am trying to express what I had understood. I am not an authentic expert on Hinduism. But, as far as I know, there’s no formal atonement for sin anywhere in Hindu scriptures”

“Really? Can you explain further?”

– “According to my knowledge, in Hinduism, sin is not an action. It is the reaction to an action. It merely means not being judgmental and condemning somebody without a full appreciation of the facts and circumstances. It means not adopting a superior, virtuous “holier-than-thou” mental attitude…”

“So there is no good and bad…how societies can or a community can survive without any moral concept of good and bad?”

– “Society and moral concepts are different subjects’ altogether. Now, we are talking about sin. We Hindus, as far as I know, consider both good and bad deeds as a laggard in attaining the ultimate aim of eternal happiness and peace. Vedic scriptures say Punya or Papa are products of mind and does not hold any substance….”

“So how can you achieve salvation?”

– “That’s what. For us, there is no sin. Hence, no salvation is needed, only enlightenment. We must merely wake up to our innate divinity. If I am part of God. I can never really be alienated from God by sin….I just can’t do anything against the cosmic will as I am aware that I am a part of everything”

Hindu scriptures say that all the universe, including every living being, is one.

All, everything, is god. Single cosmic. (Separation creates ego and fear – but that’s another subject) And we are god. (Not personal god, but impersonal reality). Anything done for purely selfish purposes or for the gratification of the ego tends to limit the mind. And such actions take you away from the knowledge that he is ultimately one with everything.

“I am sorry, but I cannot explain these Sanskrit mantras as (1) you already have conditioned concepts about GOD and (2) I am not a good orator”

“You mean to say, your sacred texts do not mention about sin?”

“There are two levels in Hinduism – one is mind-body level – that’s known as entry-level Hinduism. It has rituals, faith, superstitions, beliefs etc. To teach such Hindus we have puranas or stories which say there are good and bad. There are gods and asuras similar to your gods and demons…But here also a Hindu has freedom to believe whatever system he wants to follow”

“What’s the next level…?”

“The next level is when a Hindu transcends and becomes a truth seeker…he goes beyond puranas and starts learning Vedic scriptures…then he understands and experiences the pure consciousness…the higher self…at that stage, there is no sin, no good and bad. A seeker is aware of cosmic consciousness, so he just can’t do anything against cosmic. Hence there is no sin for a truth seeker”

“Still, for entry-level Hindus, you have sins…”

“Please don’t complicate with your concepts of sins. Paapa is not the apt word for sin. You can say, perhaps, “adharmic actions”. That’s different word, and different meaning too. Still, let us say adharmic action can roughly translated as sin”

“Aha…so you are coming back to my point. Now, you explain what adharmic actions are? Are there commandments? It is another word for sin”

“No…As I said, there are no sinners, though there are wrong actions . Through ignorance alone, commit various wrong actions. There are no sinners, though there are wrong actions…”

The Mahabharata Santi Parva, Section CLVIII says: “Covetousness or excessively and culpably desirous of the possessions of another (almost synonymous to jealousy) may be considered as the biggest paapa. It is from this source that paap and irreligiousness flow, together with great misery. This is the source of all the cunning and hypocrisy in the world. It is covetousness that makes men commit sin. Pride, malice, slander, crookedness, and incapacity to hear other people’s good, are vices that are to be seen in persons of uncleanness soul under the domination of covetousness. Know that those who are always under the influence of covetousness are wicked.”

“So your Mahabharata says there are sins – there are good and bad actions. Then why can’t you accept it? It is similar to our faith…”

“Not at all…trying to exploit others or brainwashing others also come under sin…” I said, hitting at him.

The Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section XV: “There is no act that is wholly meritorious, nor any that is wholly wicked. Right or wrong, in all acts, something of both is seen…”

“Tell it in simple words, don’t complicate things”

“There is no prescriptive right and wrong….however, to put it in simple words – a black and white for you – harming others may be considered as a sin as per Hinduism.”

(Slokaardhena Pravakshyaami yaduktham grantakotishu: Paropakaara:Punyaaya Paapaaya Parapeetanam = Meaning of this subhashita in English: “What has been told in millions of scriptures, I shall tell in just half a sloka- actions that fetch good to others is Punya and actions that fetch difficulty to others is Paapa”.)

“And any scriptures offer salvation for the “your concept” (in quotes) of sin?” he hit back at me.

“No sin…so no salvation. I said, enlightenment…being aware about your actions…If you are aware, you will not and cannot do any paapa at all…”

– However, the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 9, verse 30 and 31 says: Even if the most sinful person worships me with devotion to none else, he should be regarded as righteous, for he has rightly resolved (for he has made the holy resolution to give up the evil ways of his life). Soon he becomes righteous and attains to eternal peace; O Arjuna, know thou for certain that my devotee is never destroyed.

“Yeah – see..see..That’s what we also says – repent to God,” he acclaimed.

“But there is a serious difference again. Krishna and Arjuna are symbolic representations. The meaning of the Gita sloka is: By abandoning the evil ways in his external life and by the force of his internal right resolution, he becomes righteous and attains to eternal peace..Again, Krishna is symbolic representation of the cosmic awareness”

“Come again,”

“The body-mind brings out the idea of sin… The birth of thought itself is sin…even spirituality without awareness won’t help you…some people act spiritual, but, then, their spirituality is a mind-level thing….And mind cannot and will not escape from ego. So the first and foremost aspect is pure thoughts and deeds – it comes from the state of awareness. If thoughts and motives are good and supported by eternal truth, whatever may be the action, there would not be any sin…”

“Even violence?”

“See, if you look at things with conditioned mind, you can see lot of rights and wrongs. For instance you can see all Hindu gods carry weapons with them. And they have killed…. In fact, the Hindu gods carry weapons to protect non-violence. To protect dharma…”

“Let me tell you – you call it good or bad or sin or adharma. For me it is difficult to understand…”

“So is Hinduism – difficult to understand, even for its own followers…” I added.

-A real follower of Sanatan Dharma will not involve in adharmic karma. Why? It is not because of fear of GOD as a Hindu never be taught to fear God. It is not because of an entry ban in the heaven. But because of his love to Brahman or cosmic. A Hindu is answerable to himself, for, he knows he is part and parcel of the cosmic nature…that’s awareness…

“Ok…But do you personally believe in sins? Be honest with me…don’t give me that awareness or enlightenment or Brahman crap and all”

“My dear friend, I am not an enlightened person. I am still in the entry-level Hinduism, though I am trying to be a seeker. I still have damn problem with subtle ego (which comes in disguise), so I am not fully aware. I do believe in some good and bad. According to me, some of the worst sins in Hinduism are wishing for bad things for others, without understanding they are part of us. I also consider eating meat as sin. But there are Hindus who eat meat. They don’t think it as sin. That means, the definition for bad things or sin is relative – different for different Hindus….There is no standardization of good and bad like other religions”

“Hey, I too am vegetarian and I also believe in non-violence. Christians also profess non-violence, do you know?”

“That’s great. So, in short, sin in Hinduism = giving pain or torture or even making feel bad to someone by your mind or words or by actions. (mansa, vaachaa, karmana)…”

“So, you will get punishment and go to hell…lol” he laughed.

“No…No…No….Again, we don’t have punishment like that of yours. Though Garuda Purana talks about ‘hell’ and ‘heaven,’ the subject is completely absent in the oldest texts in Hinduism..Authentic scriptures do not have such hell and heaven. We have triloka, but it is different concept… All actions are ruled by the law of Karma…”

Suddenly he asked: “Do you like Jesus Christ ?…”

“Of course I do…I believe Christ was an enlightened man like Buddha, Madhvacharya and Sankaracharya…That doesn’t mean I take everything they says as truth. I am a Hindu by birth and by wish… So I have freedom and choice to believe what I want…”

“I am happy that you have a balanced view. I should also read these things on Hinduism. I do hope you won’t feel that we are fanatic, as I got angry in between…”

Notice from Admin: We have observed that lot of publications have lifted articles from this blog without seeking permission. That’s unethical and illegal. All you have to do is ask.
We get letters seeking the phone numbers and whereabouts of Uday Pai. If you have any questions, comments or suggestion you are free to write to him directly. E-mail: uday@udaypai.in

Rajendran P Koru
Jul 05, 2012 at 12:08 am
Dear Sir,
Excellent narration, whenever I see blog, checking first how long it is…….. In first glance, I thought I may not get patience to complete. But the content of the blog forced me to complete in one shot… Thank you very much for sharing a good conversation which contain lots of knowledge about Sanathana Dharma, which is most misinterpreted religion……..
Thank you very much….

Rati Hegde
Jul 04, 2012 at 02:53 pm
Good blog with a positive way of explaining 🙂

Mahavir Nautiyal
Aug 27, 2012 at 11:40 am
Dear Dr Uday,
Another thought provoking blog.
I agree with most of your views. Hinduism, as famously stated by Dr Radhakrishnan, is not a religion but a way of life. If it is a religion, it is a catholic religion though some narrow minded, unenlightened persons try to circumscribe it in certain rituals and superstitious beliefs. It accepts all aspects of life and revers all insentient and sentient beings, treating them as manifestations of God with varying degrees of consciousness. It accepts all in its fold, the believers as well as non- believers. Its emphasis is on search for Truth by individual efforts, by any path which suits a person’s temperament. Gita suggests four diverse paths for realization, bhakti yoga, Gyan yoga, Karma yoga and Raj Yoga. Choose any or all.
The concept of a ‘sinner’ , particularly in Christianity, is rooted in the belief that original man’s disobedience to the command of the God and attempt to seek knowledge has eternally condemned the race of humanity. It is like the curse of Sisyphus, a king of Corinth, according to Greek mythology,who was condemned to roll a huge stone uphill, only to find it rolling back from the top every time.The curse continues. Mankind remains tainted with sin for ever until the salvation comes after death.
Hindu spiritual philosophy, on the other hand, vests godhood in every being in his soul. He, however remains ignorant of the God essence due to the effect of Maya or ignorance until he awakens himself spiritually. So it is ‘ sin from birth’ in Christianity and ‘ congenital Ignorance ‘in Hinduism that envelopes a man. Emancipation lies in enlightenment. Christianity lays stress on seeking mercy of God but Hinduism lays stress on seeking the Truth. Hinduism is, more scientific in that respect ,only that its Rishis and Sages sought to discover the inner world and the western scientists the external world. Convergence of both is necessary for the good of the humanity.

Ramesh Shenoy
Aug 11, 2012 at 06:39 pm
Very good blog Sir – Here again you are breaking concepts of 2000 years. First they put fear in your head saying that you are a sinner. They they sell you the concept of hell and heaven. Then you will get a membership in heaven, by joining them. All cash dealings. Business
Sir, you don’;t know how much service you are doing to humanity without expecting a single paise benefits. I can see a silent crusader in you who is fighting for nothing but truth

Krishnadas Menon
Jul 24, 2012 at 05:30 pm
Wonderful Blog…
‘Sin’ or ‘wrong’ is the retrospective analysis of the action based on the result of that action…Further our Scriptures are not conclusive… Everybody can intrepret it according to their strength and and make use of it….

Mary Joseph
Jul 20, 2012 at 09:55 pm
Nice blog which conveys the depth of Hinduism. But there are questions still left unanswered
There was man who walked on this planet 2012 years ago called Jesus declared to the Universe that He paid the karmic debts of the humankind on His body and opened the gates of Moksha. One who believes in Him need not go through the cycles of death and birth to attain Moksha. . Can this be true? Can anybody prove or disprove this? Is there any other human being who can claim it that he or she can do it? Who will answer it?

Tony Joseph
Jul 14, 2012 at 01:30 pm
I joined speakingtree.in because somebody sent me a link of two articles: Why am I NOT a SINNER? and Why should a GOD be so INSECURE? – she wanted me to read and give a fitting reply to the author. But when I read his article I was awe-stricken – it is uniquely good and well-written. Everything is based on facts and truths.
When I read “Am I a sinner” I thought it is against Christianity and got angry at the title. But when I finished reading, I can’t stop appreciating the author.
Again, when I read his article: ” Is Vedic Astrology the world’s oldest con?” – I thought it is against Hinduism. The matter of the fact is the author is an independent, open-minded and goes by facts and truth only.
Congratulations. I had a good time reading these stuff, Sir

Kva Kutty
Jul 05, 2012 at 09:45 am
“Sanatan Dharma or Hinduism is not a prescriptive religion. It doesn’t give you a list of Do’s and Don’ts. ”
Here we have to use our wisdom.

Cosmic Entity
Jul 05, 2012 at 03:03 am
People born in other countries are they doomed or just plain unlucky that they do not follow Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma)?
Ask any religious person (Indian or who follow Hinduism) Why are we born? — That’s because we have some karmic debt left from our previous life/lives !!
Call that karmic debt as “sin” or “some wrong doing” does it makes a difference? No.
You kill someone for a Christian you have sinned. For a Hindu you have done wrong. What justification do you have for your action or reaction whatever you believe? Does it make any difference in the eyes of a Christian God or a Hindu God or rather one God in different manifestation you believers like to call?
Thanks 🙂

Tincy Mathew
Jul 07, 2012 at 12:34 pm
As usual, excellent article Dr.Udaylal Pai. (I have read all your article linked in this) Hats off. I was reading the whole story as a non-stop thriller. You have an amusing way to narrate things. Your articles stand top rated compared to most trash appears in the speakingtree. How come you don’t have as much readers as those non-sense writers get? May be no-publicity. This is a world of publicity and marketing….(lol)
Coming to the point, there is no mention in the gospels of original sin. Jesus doesn’t say much about original sin. Others in the Bible added it. The concept of original sin was developed by Augustine of Hippo in the fourth century. He was arguably influenced by the Gnostic and Manichaean notions of this world as inherently evil, but prior to his time there was little or no interest in the concept of original sin.

Neha Singh
Jul 04, 2012 at 12:39 am
I had a similar argument with a Muslim girl on a bus to Pune. She was just adamant to see god, or allah as the only good being, superior, but this was out of a resignation of effort, or out of fear, not because of any enlightenment, on the contrary she had given up her MBA etc… She admitted that Christianity and Mohammed are basically the same thing, but refused to admit that humans can aspire for godhood. She was also very adamant about her beliefs in right and wrong, and to the more intelligent, there is always a grey area. What I couldn’t understand was her inability to see that other saints or even nature are worship worthy. She adamantly refused idol worship, nature worship, when I was agreeing to everything that she was saying, thereby proving her narrowmindedness and bigotry. She was also confused about her stand on prophets and she kept saying that humans are better than angels, thereby proving that to aspire for a higher life is not worthy. She kept on also going back n forth on her arguments about humans being god or a part of god, vehemently denying godhood to humans, but at the same time asserting an elevated status of humans. She also didn’t believe in the scientific theories of Darwin and evolution. In the end we admitted to being friends, but despite losing the argument, she insisted for me to read the Quran, and I denied it vehemently, because I’m a Hindu out and out. She couldn’t grasp the concept of relativity and Absolute and to see Brahman in all things and beings. She also did not agree to the symbolic representation of Brahman, Allah, but seemed to believe in an unseen, unknown force for whom her prayers had worked. She was also unaware and not able to refute atheists and non believers and immediately labelled them ‘shaitan’. As such she needed a dose of openness and a more explorative view of the world. As is always the case, various religions keep asserting their superiority, and she kept saying that the Quran had the most scientific and progressive views, and that too first, when everyone knows that Hindusim is the oldest religion. She was also too young to give up the fascination of the world, which was more out of a resigned failure to be accepted and had isolationist views instead of accepting the creation as a wonderful aspect of god. Her arguments made Islam unmalleable and rigid, not necessary the best way to bring about world peace, when all religions deserve equal status.

Tej Tiwary
Jul 04, 2012 at 12:34 am
Uday Ji, Many times I felt you have given words to my thoughts, specially in your blogs Why I am vegetarian? and Am I a Hindu? This time I would disagree a bit. In my opinion, Sanatan Dharma is is all about four Yogas both in principles and practice.
Gyan Yoga is about knowing self, Him and the relation between the two. It is about knowing the purpose of our being here, and the way to achieve the purpose. After meeting many spiritual masters, being in contact with the people of various faiths and living in different parts of the world I have realized the truth in my own way. My gyan denounces the view of God which survives by exploiting the two major weaknesses of human being, the FEAR and the GREED, as both are the nature of Maya, not Him. My gyan doesn’t allow me to believe that we should do the rituals because He will reward us for that or punish us we don’t do those. We should do the rituals, because He deserves that. We should do the rituals because it is our duty. Acquiring gyan is not a one time event but a continuous process and I learn everyday, even from those who I don’t agree with.
Dhyan Yoga is to meditate on Him, who is all powerful, omnipresent, compassionate, forgiving, fair……It is to connect with Him & imbibe His characteristics on daily basis. It is again not a one time event but a continuous process.
Karma-Yoga is to do the prescribed duty without being affected by the result. It is to perform the duty as self, as a son, as a father, as a spouse, as a sibling, as a family member, as a neighbor, as a professional, as a member of the living world, as a carer of non-living entities of the world and so on. Nishkam Karma.
Bhakti Yoga is to believe in His authority over the entire universe. It is, to devote completely to Him. It is to do the rituals according to our personal abilities and understanding. However, we must make sure that those rituals don’t contradict the other principles which are eternally related to God and religion.
I won’t be able to say what others should do? For me, I have understood God as mentioned above. I meditate on Him for 20 minutes everyday, unless there is a very important work which has occupied that time. I do my duty in every role and try to stretch my self to the extent upto which it is fruitful. I try not to miss any occasion when I can pray to him, visit a Temples and Gurudwara.I chant mantras which I have learnt from my parents and some of the holy books.
I wish, I could keep myself on the path of religion. .

Vinay Thakur
Jul 03, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Very good…balanced view…

Terence Shenoy
Jul 05, 2012 at 10:04 am
Superb blog Uday.

Ramesh Shenoy
Aug 06, 2012 at 02:04 pm
I think every Christian brothers and sisters should read this. Congratulations for writing such articles

Lotus Crown
Aug 26, 2012 at 06:50 pm
~ The individual consciousness is a quantum particle of the supreme consciousness, called ‘ONENESS’ which is eternal ~

Search for Articles

More

WhatsApp Broadcast List - Exclusive regular weekly messages for readers - includes exclusive content: question and answers and articles. Anybody can join the list free. If anyone wants to join this list: (1) Save/add the phone number "+91-94475-33409" in your handset by creating new contact in the contacts list. (2) Then just send your name through your WhatsApp to: +91-94475-33409. Broadcast will happen ONLY IF the sender's phone number is added/saved in the contact list of the receiver.